Union Opposition Barred Drug Testing Of Paramedic

Inquiry Reveals Abuse

11-year Veteran Suspended

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue could not require paramedics suspected of abusing drugs to submit to a drug test until last month, in large part because of opposition from their union.

Fire-Rescue has been trying for 10 years to implement an employee drug-testing policy, but the impasse came to light only in recent weeks with the investigation of a paramedic.

Kirk Escuage, who worked at Station 55 west of Boca Raton, repeatedly was allowed to administer drugs to patients after he twice was observed to be in a drug-like haze and had gone through a drug rehabilitation program.

He was suspended at the end of January only after he reported that he administered morphine to a patient who, it turned out, never received the drug, officials say.

Investigators said Escuage, 34, was responsible for the missing morphine.

Fire-Rescue has recommended that Escuage, an 11-year veteran, be fired. He is awaiting an administrative hearing while union attorneys review his investigative file.

Regardless of what happens to Escuage, the investigation has revealed weaknesses in Fire-Rescue's ability to detect and act upon evidence of drug abuse by paramedics.

An interview with Fire-Rescue Chief Herman Brice on Tuesday revealed:

-- Officials have been unable to implement an employee drug-testing policy for 10 years because of opposition from the union, Professional Firefighters Local 2928, creating an impasse.

-- Top Fire-Rescue administrators could have, but did not reassign Escuage to a desk job after incidents in which he appeared to be in a drug-induced haze.

-- Seals on wooden drug boxes kept on ambulances could easily be circumvented by unscrewing the bottoms of the boxes.

-- Paramedics have never been trained to recognize and handle drug abuse by co-workers until now.

Escuage, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, was suspended without pay at 5 a.m. Jan. 27, a day after he responded to a cardiac call at the Radisson Hotel in Boca Raton.

By then, Fire-Rescue already had been investigating Escuage for three weeks, when paramedics at Station 55 told their supervisors they observed Escuage to be glassy-eyed, sweating profusely and lethargic.

Two paramedics said he appeared to be under the influence of drugs. Others said they feared for their own safety and that of their patients.

Unknown to them at the time, Escuage had voluntarily entered a department drug treatment program as early as 1995. In lieu of discipline, Escuage agreed to undergo six random drug tests in an 11-month period. He returned to his job after the 30-day treatment program.

Fire-Rescue first learned of Escuage's drug problems in May 1995, when he called police from Pompano Beach to report two women had locked themselves in his car with a dog that was "chewing up the interior."

When police arrived, the officer found the car locked and empty. The same day, Escuage reported to work at the wrong fire station and was relieved for being "unfit for duty."Within a week, he voluntarily entered the drug-treatment program.

Brice said the department has been limited in what action it could take against Escuage because the department was unable to agree on an employee drug-testing policy until last month.

"We, in our judgment, did everything we could at the time with the tools we had," Brice said.

In contrast, Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office employees and other county employees must submit to random drug tests, while employees of municipal fire-rescue departments in the county can be tested instantly if reasonable suspicion exists.

Don Carroll, the union president, said that the union was not opposed to drug testing but that it must be administered fairly and appropriately.

"It's a matter of language, what is fair and right," he said. "We wanted to avoid a witch hunt and the inappropriate control of a person's lifestyle."

While not condoning the use of illegal drugs, Carroll said that drugs can remain in the system for weeks and that paramedics should not be punished for off-duty behavior.

The delay was in crafting a drug policy both parties could agree to, he said.

"I'm not saying something didn't slip through the cracks," he said. "We were concerned about the employees' safety and rights."

Given the impasse, Brice said Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue could not even reassign Escuage after the 1995 and 1997 incidents to ensure he was not endangering patients.

Because Fire-Rescue could not test Escuage for drugs, had no proof Escuage was taking drugs or that he was unable to perform his duties, they had to let him return to work.

"He was performing proficiently without any kinds of impairment," said Ron Beesley, director of personnel. "An employee has to be treated as innocent until proven guilty. We did not have the probable cause to remove him from the truck."

The fact that morphine disappeared from Escuage's station while he was on duty or that he was responsible for breaking at least 12 ampules of morphine during a seven-month period last year did not justify reassigning him, Brice said.